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April 29th, 2009, 02:14 PM #1
State to consider medical marijuana use
http://post-gazette.com/pg/09119/966345-100.stm
State to consider medical marijuana use
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
HARRISBURG -- A state legislator from Philadelphia said today it's time to get rid of the decades-old negative image surrounding marijuana and replace it with "a new, honest image."
How? By legalizing the use of small amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes, such as reducing pain for sufferers of cancer or multiple sclerosis, helping people with glaucoma and assist with insomnia and mental disorders such as manic depression, said Democratic Rep. Mark Cohen.
He introduced House Bill 1393, which would put Pennsylvania in a league with 13 other states that permit a person, with a doctor's recommendation, to apply to the state Department of Health for a "registry card" that would allow the patient to purchase or grow one ounce of marijuana at a time.
"The only thing blocking this bill's passage is the old image that marijuana has from the 1930s," Mr. Cohen said. "It's time to create a new image, as a form of treatment that, when prescribed by responsible doctors, could help thousands of patients in Pennsylvania."
People with state-issued registry cards could either grow up to six marijuana plants at their home or buy it at yet-to-be-created "compassion centers," legal dispensaries of medical marijuana. The sale of marijuana would be subject to the state's 6 percent sales tax, and Mr. Cohen claimed that the state could get up to $25 million a year in new revenue.
He appeared at a news conference today with Chris Goldstein, an advocate with Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana, and Chuck Homan, a 58-year-old roofer from York County who was arrested last year for growing marijuana plants on his property. He uses marijuana to allow him one or two hours of sleep a night.
Without it, he said, he can't even sleep that long. He attributed his insomnia to suffering from depression. His legal case is still pending, he said, but now he has joined the effort to legalize medical uses for marijuana.
Mr. Cohen said he has six co-sponsors for his bill, far short of the 102 votes he needs in the House. The Senate, controlled by Republicans, many of them social conservatives, will likely be even tougher.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tom Barnes can be reached at tbarnes@post-gazette.com or 717-787-4254.
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April 29th, 2009, 02:29 PM #2
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
popeys runs out of Chicken and PA wants to legalize Weed. Could be bad timing...
Look to the One Who is wearing what should have been your scars...
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April 29th, 2009, 03:25 PM #3
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
Interesting.
I am curious what the full list of medical conditions will be.
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April 29th, 2009, 03:29 PM #4Banned
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Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
medical marijuania helps cancer patients and pain sufferers, but what about the addiction of it?the only problem is it will lead to lung cancer and addiction, they have other pills for insomina and depression why do they need to "smoke" they have narcotic pain killers for pain why do they really need "weed"?
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April 29th, 2009, 03:38 PM #5
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
This is the libertarian in me talking (I don't take the pot)...
Sure, legalize it.
I have long thought that the federal stranglehold on drug laws was problematic.
If a state wants it be illegal, I am all for it. They will be responsible to regulate and tax it as they wish, like they do with alcohol.
I am not really all that interested in federal restrictions that effect all the states unless we are talking about constitutional restrictions to limit state lawmakers ability to restrict citizen rights.
Bottom line, prohibition in a free society is a bad idea, and doesn't work.
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April 29th, 2009, 03:39 PM #6
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
Marijuana isn't physically addictive. You can eat it "pot brownies" so that wouldn't lead to lung cancer.
they have narcotic pain killers for pain why do they really need "weed"?
My wife just came off them from having a surgery. It wasn't pleasant.
Doctors give them out like they're candy. My wife had to fight her Dr to stop taking them. And people complain about pot.
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April 29th, 2009, 03:39 PM #7Grand Member
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Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
marijuana is not physically addictive at all. there is disagreement about the extent of its psychological addictiveness.
several studies have found that marijuana does NOT cause lung cancer...even when smoked--which is not the only way to administer it anyway.
there have even been one or two studies that have suggested the active ingredient in marijuana may be helpful in fighting cancer. more research needs to be done.
marijuana has many fewer and less harmful side-effects than many narcotic pain killers or sleep medicines.
if one wants to have an informed opinion about marijuana, one really needs to do a lot of research as the government (as well as some private industries) has been running a completely unfounded smeer campaign against it for a loooooong time.
i would recommend starting with the book "the emporer wears no clothes" by jack herer. as with any source, of course, one should not just believe everything in the book without checking, but the book is *very* well documented, and there are plenty of other independent sources. but that book is a good place to start to get the "other side" of the story.F*S=k
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April 29th, 2009, 03:40 PM #8
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
Agreed, there are pain killers and anti depressants available already.
Insomnia? WTF happened to sleeping pills??
As for the glaucoma, wouldn't it be a little less political if they would isolate the chemical in marijuana that actually does anything useful?
................ZRT Sector 1 Waterborne Operations & Sniper Unit.................
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April 29th, 2009, 03:45 PM #9
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
If you're going to be psychologically addicted to pot, you'll likely wind up psychologically addicted to many other things anyway.
All made from nasty man made chemicals. Ever see the list of side effects on any given package?
Why not have the choice of a natural alternative with far less side effects?
As for the glaucoma, wouldn't it be a little less political if they would isolate the chemical in marijuana that actually does anything useful?Last edited by tlgpa; April 29th, 2009 at 03:50 PM.
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April 29th, 2009, 03:47 PM #10
Re: State to consider medical marijuana use
And in other recent news studies report insomnia rampant among PA residents with numbers of reported cases rising over 2000% from cases dated only 1 year ago.
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